There is no vice: new conditions for obtaining citizenship will be introduced for migrants

A migrant will be denied Russian citizenship and a residence permit if he has committed a crime under the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation in his native country. Such a bill of the Interior Ministry was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers, Izvestia found out. When applying, migrants are also expected to require a certificate of no criminal record, and the foreigner will be required to obtain the relevant document himself in his homeland. The initiative is aimed at ensuring the safety of Russians and may lead to an increase in the number of refusals to obtain citizenship and residence permits, experts believe. How the mechanism will work is described in the Izvestia article.

What documents are needed for citizenship

Migrants may need a criminal record certificate issued by their country to obtain Russian citizenship or a residence permit (residence permit). Such amendments, developed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, were approved on Monday, January 25, by the government commission on legislative activity. This was reported by Izvestia's sources in the Cabinet of Ministers.

The conditions for obtaining citizenship and a residence permit are regulated by the laws "On Citizenship of the Russian Federation" and "On the Legal Status of Foreign Citizens in the Russian Federation," recalled Vladimir Kuznetsov, Chairman of the All-Russian Trade Union of Mediators.

"Currently, one of the key grounds for refusing to apply for citizenship or revoking a previously issued permit is the presence of an outstanding or outstanding criminal record for committing intentional crimes on the territory of Russia," he said.

The bill establishes a new basis for refusing to issue, revoking documents that have already been issued and rejecting applications for Russian citizenship, said Vladimir Gruzdev, Chairman of the Board of the Russian Bar Association.

"A refusal may be followed by a crime committed outside the Russian Federation, but recognized as such under Russian law," he said. — The proposed grounds for cancellation will not apply to documents issued before the law came into force.

He added that a transitional period of two years is being established for Ukrainian citizens — during this period they will be relieved of the obligation to provide a criminal record certificate. This is due to the difficulties in obtaining it.

Currently, a certificate of absence of a criminal record in their home country may be required from citizens of countries with a visa regime. And for citizens of the CIS countries and other countries with a visa-free entry regime, this document is optional, since the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia conducts checks using its own databases and channels of interdepartmental interaction.

"However, this mechanism does not always allow us to obtain complete information about crimes committed by a foreigner outside of Russia," said Vladimir Kuznetsov.

If the amendments are adopted, foreigners and stateless persons will have to obtain a document on the absence of a criminal record by contacting the competent authority no earlier than three months before the date of applying for the right to reside in Russia, Vladimir Gruzdev said. Persons under the age of 14 are exempt from the obligation to provide a certificate.

Why do foreigners need a new certificate?

A certificate of absence of a criminal record is one of the basic documents when applying for a residence permit, permanent residence or citizenship in almost any country in the world, Kirill Grigoriev, director of the Asseal law firm, reminded. And if such a certificate was required from a foreigner, he had to certify it at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of his country or at its consulate. The document must be translated into Russian with notarization in Russia.

"Only after that does the certificate acquire legal force abroad," he said. — In the UAE, for example, the production and legalization period of such a certificate can be about a month.

The initiative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs is a logical step in the framework of tightening migration policy and strengthening control over incoming persons, Vladimir Kuznetsov believes.

"The amendments are aimed at eliminating the possibility of legalizing persons with a criminal past in Russia and unifying requirements for all categories of migrants,— he said. — The main goal is to increase the level of security through more thorough background checks of migrants and to prevent people with criminal records from entering the country.

According to Natalia Golosnova, CEO of the Razio Group, lawyer, the proposed provisions of the bill are long overdue.

"First of all, they are necessary to guarantee the rights and security of Russian citizens," she said. — It may seem that the amendments can worsen the situation of foreign citizens to some extent, but, nevertheless, this procedure is aimed at protecting the rights and security of the country.

The initiative also eliminates the gap associated with differences in requirements for citizens of "visa-free" and "visa-free" countries, making the procedure more uniform and transparent, Vladimir Kuznetsov believes.

For most foreign citizens, especially from the CIS countries, this means the emergence of a new mandatory stage in the legalization process. They will have to contact the authorities of their country, which may take a considerable time and entail additional costs for the legalization and translation of documents into Russian.

— The expansion of grounds may lead to an increase in the number of refusals to issue a residence permit, residence permit and citizenship, — said Vladimir Kuznetsov.

In general, the initiative reflects the global trend towards stricter migration control and is aimed at protecting national interests, experts stressed.